I still havent news about the broken frame, same problems, no email answers until now.

Wheres the warranty? I want a new frame or refound ( I already bought another frame ).

Originally Posted by Gili

I bought a R041 Velobuild framework in May / 2014. I had a problem on seatpost that were sending me a new and so far nothing. In early November found a cracked the seat tube, I sent an email to Chris the Velobuild and so far I am unanswered. I also bought a pair of rear hangers that were not sent (a friend also expects a couple of bottle cages). Tired of waiting for a response, I posted them on youtube and forum, but the messages are deleted.

considering if i should pay well for more 'assurance'
after the pic of bad creditably of velobuild. i kinda step back from velobuild.

i just bought a wheelset from yeoleo. it is more expensive than other shop from aliexpress but i felt safer as they have a facebook and i can easily put my comment or complain if things really go wrong with them.

dear senior, any other recommendation fr a frame similar to cervelo s3 frame?

Your Merlin is likely much better quality than a fake/counterfeit Chinese frame. If I were you I'd stick with what you have.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Kurt Searvogel, who is attempting to break the 75,000 miles in one year record just broke his second Giant frame. I don't know, Giant frames may just be cheap carbon frames too.

Chinese Carbon Thread and Ebay direct version 6.0

Originally Posted by ptsbike55

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Kurt Searvogel, who is attempting to break the 75,000 miles in one year record just broke his second Giant frame. I don't know, Giant frames may just be cheap carbon frames too.

Giant is one of the few companies that have their own factory; they are not open-mold frames. And AFAIK they are made in Taiwan, not mainland China like these other frames being discussed on this thread.

I enjoy my Chinese carbon frame, but I would not claim it is worth as much as a name-brand titanium frame or even my made-in-China titanium Habanero cycles frame. That is ok; it costs a lot less too.

Your Merlin is likely much better quality than a fake/counterfeit Chinese frame. If I were you I'd stick with what you have.

Hey Merlins break and crack too. Just like any other bike frame. I've seen plenty of cracked titanium frames. Any frame that's been tig welded, runs the risk of weld contamination and/or corruption of the material properties in the heat affected zones. No frame material (aluminum, ti, carbon, steel, bamboo) is immune from breakage. Frames have to be made with consistant quality, and when something is built by a human, it's up to the human to do everything perfectly every time. My Chinese carbon frame has already lasted longer than other steel and ti frames I've owned.
My Merlin extralight cracked at the drive-side chainstay...
I had a Basso Gap made with Columbus SL tubing, crack at the downtube...
I had a Tomassini SLX that cracked at the seat tube/bb junction...

Just wanted to throw my review in. Came from riding a 2014 BMC SLR01 which got run over, and before that a 2013 model which cracked randomly at the dropouts with no warranty help but crash replacement. Ended up with a F8 with 5800 from miracle which had similar geometry to my SLR01. Very impressed with the quality of the ride. Looks great also.

Di2 Compatibility?

I'm in the early stages of planning a new spring build, thinking bout going di2 (6870). I'm having a hard time getting clear information about frame compatibility with di2.

Are all of the China internal cable routing frames Di2 compatible?

My default is to go with FlyXii because I've had so much good luck with them, but they don't seem to say anything bout Di2. I do know that the meachanical frames I've built up from them DO have the extra holes that I thought were for di2.

Can anyone care to answer me a few questions?
First how cheap are the cheapest frames? I live in Spain how much is it additional taxs? Where should i buy it? Are they safe?

1)cheapest probs $350 a frame (normally not inc shipping, which is abou t $80)
2)I also live in spain, I did a LOT of research on this and basically its awful, Spanish customs will assess the frame at a value they think is valid, so if they think it looks like a $800 frame that is value they will use, then 21% VAT and around 4% import duty AND THEN the biggie, which is a specific anti-dumping tax on Chinese bicycle imports........ at 45% of the value they have chosen, not what is declared on box (Chinese sellers will often write a low value on box such as $120 to avoid us paying import taxes). So, you may pay $400 to china, they will write $120 on box, Spanish customs will decide it is worth $600, add 25% in vat etc so it now $750 + 45% anti dumping on that so $1125 leaving you owing $525 in tax to spain....
short answer is im getting mine imported to england then brought to me in spain by guy who supplies local shop...
3)theres million of sellers, we rarely hear bad review or scams about any of them
4)yes they are as safe as any other bikes it would seem, this will be my t hird and the only reason I have needed 3 is because of my habit of crashing them badly, not because they have failed In any way, many people here have tens of thousands of km on their frames...

but seriously be careful with direct import to spain, if they check your package it will get very expensive very fast....

I'm in the early stages of planning a new spring build, thinking bout going di2 (6870). I'm having a hard time getting clear information about frame compatibility with di2.

Are all of the China internal cable routing frames Di2 compatible?

My default is to go with FlyXii because I've had so much good luck with them, but they don't seem to say anything bout Di2. I do know that the meachanical frames I've built up from them DO have the extra holes that I thought were for di2.

Can anyone enlighten me here?

thanks!

Im not sure if all are but both Miracle, and ZhongWei both asked what group I would be using and sent both frames with both types of cable stops for me to use either or.

color me stupid here...but can someone please tell me the dimensions for this 53cm frameset listed here? I see the geometry chart but they mix up the 53/54/55 frame sizes on the same line...I typically ride a 53/54cm frameset. I'm 5'9" with a 30" inseam. i want to make sure this fits me and isn't one of those frames that is listed as a 53cm but fits like a 56cm. Thanks!!!

Not really related but I remember seeing a picture someone posted of him spraying his whole bike with plastidip?

The color was gold i think, I can't find the poster so i'll just ask here.

Anyone got tips/advice on how to spray a bicycle frame? I have no idea how to cover the threaded areas like the BB holes and my chinarello has 2 small holes on the bottom of the down tube, i assume its for the Di2 battery.

Do I cover them and spray over then remove while its still wet? Plastidip requires 5-6 coats so do i cover them, spray, cover/spray/cover/spray ?

And how much thickness will it add to the frame? I don't want the top parts of the fork to rub against the frame.

Chinese Carbon Thread and Ebay direct version 6.0

Can someone shed some light on what the latest open mold frame models are?

Are any of the main resellers working on the latest style aero shapes like what Canyon Aero, Ridley Noah and dogma f8s...not looking for a fake but rather a new aero design like the names mentioned above.....

I went with Velobuild because they promise better service then direct Chinese vendors. They're lying. I would stay clear of Velobuild.

The frame itself seems to be okay, nice and responsive, pretty racy.
I had a problem with a dropping seatpost, reason was a combo of bad seatclamp and the seatpost form that didn't follow the frame form.
Chris from Velobuild sent me a new seatclamp (which was better) and then a new seatpost (after 2 months or so) wich was exactly the same as the old.

I got the old seatpost to a carbon repair shop, they sorted out the shape. Velobuild doesn't react to my mails anymore, so they won't pay for it.

All in all it took from September (when I placed the order) to well into 2015 before the bike got ride able.

For short: I will not buy Chinese carbon anymore (and definitely not from Velobuild), I'll just go for a cheap local frame (you can get a little older left over frame for less money and less problems)

On the upside, I did learn a lot about building a bike and I have a nice riding bike now:

I went with Velobuild because they promise better service then direct Chinese vendors. They're lying. I would stay clear of Velobuild.

The frame itself seems to be okay, nice and responsive, pretty racy.
I had a problem with a dropping seatpost, reason was a combo of bad seatclamp and the seatpost form that didn't follow the frame form.
Chris from Velobuild sent me a new seatclamp (which was better) and then a new seatpost (after 2 months or so) wich was exactly the same as the old.

I got the old seatpost to a carbon repair shop, they sorted out the shape. Velobuild doesn't react to my mails anymore, so they won't pay for it.

All in all it took from September (when I placed the order) to well into 2015 before the bike got ride able.

For short: I will not buy Chinese carbon anymore (and definitely not from Velobuild), I'll just go for a cheap local frame (you can get a little older left over frame for less money and less problems)

On the upside, I did learn a lot about building a bike and I have a nice riding bike now:

My F8 copy had that problem but carbon paste solved it right away. Did you use carbon paste?